When It Rains... He Pours

by Leah Holt

  Liam. . . Why is Liam on here?

  “Do you recognize anyone? If not, that's fine, we just—”

  Placing the tip of my finger on Liam's face, I asked. “Why is his picture in here?”

  “You know who that is then?”

  “Yeah, of course I do, it's Liam Barnes.”

  Pointing at the pen, he asked, “Can you circle and initial his picture for me.”

  “What for? What's going on here, why do have him in this lineup?”

  Pulling his hand back, Detective Glenn pressed the tips of his fingers together. “Glory, I don't how to say this, but Liam is the one who did all this. He's the one who set up the burglary and the fire.”

  “What?!” My voice came out loud and angry. “No he isn't, he didn't have anything to do with this! Why would you even think?!”

  Hanging his head, the detective frowned. “We have evidence against him and an eye witness to it all. His brother can place him there, Jacob gave us details he could only know if the person responsible told him. Clayton also told us that Liam had been the one who paid him and he's willing to testify to that on the stand.”

  “No, no you're wrong. They're both lying to you. Liam didn't do this, Jacob is the one who did this. That's why I came here today, that's what I was going to tell you. Jacob did all this, not Liam.” Jamming my finger into the desk top, I snapped my back straight and glared at him. “And you let Jacob walk out that door, he's free, he's out there and he needs to be stopped.”

  Arching a brow, the detective thinned his lips. Pulling out a stack of papers, he slipped them across the desk. “Do these look familiar?”

  My eyes darted from him to the papers. “What are these?”

  “That is the purchase agreement you signed. Jacob brought it in as proof that you two were working together and his brother didn't like it. Did you sign those documents?”

  All the air in my lungs spilled out with disbelief. I thought Liam had torn them up and thrown them away. “I did, but not because I wanted to. Jacob had threatened me, I tried to tell you that before. I thought I didn't have a choice, that I had to sign them in order to make him stop. But Liam ripped them up, he tried to help me, he tried to save my business. Liam saved me, he's the one who pulled me out of that building as it burned around me.”

  “Maybe Liam isn't the man you thought he was. Did you ever think of that?”

  “Detective Glenn, Liam is exactly the man I thought he was. He's not the man you think he is.” Tilting my head, I studied his face. “Where is he? Where is Liam?”

  Leaning forward, his voice was harsh and demeaning. “He's exactly where an asshole like him deserves to be. He's safely locked up behind bars, awaiting trial for what he's done to you.”

  No! He didn't do anything!

  “You're wrong, you're so goddamn wrong!”

  Softening his face, he pursed his lips. “Glory, I understand this is difficult for you to process, and you might not want to hear it. Jacob told me all about how his brother worked you over, but Liam—”

  Refusing to let him finish, I snapped. “Liam isn't the bad guy here, Jacob is. I called you and told you he threatened me, he did exactly what he said he would.” Clenching my teeth, the detective looked at me like I was crazy. “What do I have to do to prove it to you?”

  “Ms. Daniels, you need to face the facts here. Jacob told me all about how he tried to scare you, and he feels really horrible about it, but he's trying to right his wrongs. And after what Liam did. . .” Pausing, he shook his head as if it was the most awful thing he had ever heard. “Jacob knows his brother is dangerous, he doesn't want to see anything else happen to you.”

  “What?!” yelling, I threw my arms in the air. “That's not true! Liam isn't dangerous, Jacob is lying!”

  “He gave us proof, Glory, do you have proof that he's lying? Can you give me something tangible?”

  “Proof? You want proof?” Arching my brows, I let my eyes steady on his. Shoving the chair back, I jolted to my feet. Veering my stare, I snarled. “I'll get you your fucking proof.”

  Storming out of his office, the rage I felt bubbled through my veins, making me more angry than I had ever been before.

  I was the victim.

  I was the one who had lost everything.

  I was the one who had seen the look in Jacob's eyes.

  And I was the one who was going to put him behind bars.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Glory

  “I have something you need, can you meet me?”

  Chuckling, Jacob huffed into the phone. “There's nothing you have that I need. I already have it all, or did you forget that?”

  Dick.

  Taking in a slow breath, I kept myself calm, not letting his asshole ways get to me. “Well, you own the lot now. I have insurance information to give you so you can send in a claim for the fire.”

  I wasn't sure where the idea came from, but it hit me that night after I left the station. I had signed those papers before the fire, which in theory meant that I didn't own the building when it went up in flames.

  “Insurance claim. . .” His voice trailed off as he processed what I said. “Why would I need to file a claim?”

  “Because I didn't own it anymore when it caught fire, you did. So. . .” Letting my words trail off, I waited for him to see where I was going with this.

  “So, I'm the one who can collect the insurance money.”

  “Bingo. You know for someone who is supposed to be a real-estate genius, you're pretty damn stupid.”

  “Screw you,” Jacob growled through the receiver. “Meet me at the lot at two o'clock, you can come say goodbye to it while you're there. How does that sound?”

  Hanging up, I didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer. I was ready to jump through the phone and strangle him right then and there. It took everything I had to not scream and yell at him, to not call him names and give him the pleasure of thinking he had won this war.

  He won't win this. He just lost and he doesn't even know it.

  Grabbing my tote, I jogged downstairs and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” my mother asked. She was standing in the hallway, wiping her hands on a towel.

  “I just have a few errands to run.”

  “Errands?” Cocking her head, she eyed me, trying to read between the lines.

  Smiling, I gripped the strap of my bag and twisted my toe into the floor. “Yes, Mother, errands.” My tone was sarcastic and dry as I gave her a playful grin. “What am I fifteen again?” Giggling, I stepped to the door and opened it up.

  Laughing, she cupped her hands on her hips and lowered her lids. “I know you're not a kid, Glory, but are you sure you're alright to be running around?”

  “I'm fine, I'll be back a little later.”

  Nodding, she gave me a thin smile. “Just don't push yourself, you're still recovering.”

  Closing the door behind me, I walked the few blocks up to my gallery. My feet were moving, but I couldn't feel the ground beneath me. Every step felt like my feet were weighed down in cement blocks.

  I knew what I was going to find when I got close enough to see the building, I knew that the nothing I thought I had was going to feel even worse the first time I saw it with my own eyes.

  Nothing could prepare me for the devastation.

  And I still pressed on. I was doing this for Liam, I was taking on his brother and forcing myself to see the pile of dust that was my world.

  It was worth it, all of this was worth it to save the man who had saved me.

  He didn't deserve to be behind bars, he didn't deserve to suffer for something his brother had done.

  Was I afraid of Jacob?

  No.

  I probably should have been. If I had been thinking with my head instead of my heart, maybe that fear would have punctured the surface and made me rethink what I was about to do.

  But the love I had for Liam was stronger than any fear.

  Stopping a
t the corner, I knew the second I took that left my building would be visible. I was frozen for a moment, unable to move, unable to coordinate my feet and my brain.

  My head began to throb and my lungs began to squeeze. I couldn't breathe, my mind was running with images of what was around the other side of that turn.

  You've got to do this. Don't back down, you can't back down!

  Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Tipping my head up to the sky, I let the sun hit my face and warm my skin before I walked right into the belly of the beast.

  Taking the first few steps blindly, I slowly peeled my lids open, keeping my eyes on the clouds. I didn't want to look, I almost couldn't.

  I felt my heart hammer inside my chest as I painstakingly lowered my gaze. Sweat trickled down my temples, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as my body trembled uncomfortably from head to toe.

  It really is all gone. . .

  Tears swept down my cheeks instantly as my eyes settled on the blackened and charred remnants of my gallery. It was unrecognizable.

  The roof had caved in, the windows were broken and what shards remained in the sills were covered in soot. There was no siding left, no sheet-rock or slick wood. Everything was cracked, snaked with trenches and dark as a raven's feathers.

  “Oh my god.” The words tumbled out quietly as I pressed a palm to my forehead.

  Walking slowly, I dragged my feet over the pavement, my eyes wide with shock. Stopping, I was standing at the edge of the front door, an unrecognizable door I hadn't ever seen before.

  It wasn't my door, this place wasn't my place. This was something different.

  Sobbing, I laid my hand against the wood, feeling the brittleness of the splinters. Pulling my hand away, I stared at the black dust on my palm and watched as my tears dropped like rain off my cheeks, landing in the center of my hand.

  “Pretty, isn't it?” His voice cut through my head, making me want to throw up instantly.

  Snapping my head up, I twisted on my heels. Wiping away the tears on my face, I didn't want Jacob to see me crying.

  “This is awful, it's not pretty.”

  Shrugging his shoulder, he walked around me, letting his eyes troll the building. “We have different views on beauty.” His hands were tucked in his pockets as he cocked his head over his shoulder and gave me a sinister grin. “This is a master piece in my eyes.”

  “You're a sick fuck, you know that?” My jaw clenched as I glared at him, unable to look away. “It never had to go this far.”

  Letting out a soft laugh, he stroked his jaw. “You know what,” he said, pointing a stiff finger in my direction. “You're right, had you only listened in the first place, maybe we wouldn't be standing here.”

  Cocking my jaw, I veered my stare. “Don't you dare put this on me. I didn't do anything wrong, you just think you can take anything you want. But it doesn't work that way, you won't get away with this.”

  Taking a step towards the building, Jacob gripped a piece of wood and broke it off. Spinning it in his hands, he kept his eyes down. “I already have.” The corner of his lip curled up as his lids hooded.

  “Why? Why did you do all this to me? Why did you do this to your brother?”

  “My brother doesn't deserve shit. He thought he could just rule our empire when he felt like it.” Hardening his jaw, he spoke through clenched teeth. “He won't be able to do that anymore, not from a cell. Arson is a pretty severe charge, he won't see the light of day for a really long time.”

  “He didn't do this and you know that. It doesn't bother you that he's going to do time for something you did?”

  His neck thickened as he lifted his eyes to mine, his pupils shrunk down to the size of a pen tip. “Liam got what was coming to him, and I'd do it all over again if I had to.” Crushing the wood in his hand, he wiped away the shards, letting them fall to the ground as he took a long step into me. “Only I would do it better. I'd make sure you both didn't get out.” Another step forward brought us toe to toe. “I'd make sure you both took your last breath in that building. Because I always get what I want. Period.”

  “Why don't you say that again?”

  “I'm pretty sure you heard me just fine, bitch.”

  “I did, but I'm not sure the detective did.”

  Jacob's lids shot open as his brows narrowed into the bridge of his nose. “What did you do?”

  Four cop cars came flying around the corner, sirens blaring, lights flickering red and blue. Slamming to a stop, the doors flew open and several officers jumped out, pointing their guns at Jacob.

  “Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head!”

  Jacob never took his eyes off of me as he dropped to the ground and braided his fingers against the back of his skull.

  “You're going to regret this,” he said under his breath as an officer came up behind him and cuffed his wrists.

  “No, I think this is beautiful. Don't you?”

  “Fuck you!” he spat as the officer tugged him to his feet and pushed him towards the back of the car.

  “Well, I got to give credit where it's deserved,” Detective Glenn said as he walked to my side with his hand out. “You were right, that dirt-bag had us all convinced his brother was behind all of this.”

  Shaking his hand, I gave him a smile. “When does Liam get released? That's the only thing I really care about.”

  Cupping his hips, the detective dug his thumbs into his belt. “I already made the call, it won't be long.”

  Standing by the gallery, watching Jacob tear me apart with his eyes as the officer shoved him into the back of the patrol car and drove him away, I actually felt good.

  I wasn't going to allow that man to rule my life with fear or questions or worry.

  It was over.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at my building, and that's when I realized it didn't really matter anymore.

  Liam was right when he said that four walls didn't signify who I was.

  It was just a building.

  The building didn't make me, the walls didn't signify a piece of my father, my art wasn't created because of the gallery.

  I was the glue.

  Without me there was no building, without me there was no art or gallery at all.

  Because I was the piece it needed to survive.

  There would always be a gallery as long as I had a paintbrush.

  And there would always be love as long as I had Liam.

  Chapter Twenty

  Liam

  “Come on, let's go.” The guard stood outside my cell, his face straight as an arrow.

  Pushing up on the thin mattress, I swung my legs off the bed and placed them on the floor. “What's going on?”

  “You need to come with me.” Stuffing the key into the lock, I heard the metal click. Sliding the bars open, he turned sideways and nodded his head. “Any time would be good.”

  Standing up, I timidly walked towards the door. “What's going on? Am I going to see a judge or something? Did my case get moved up the list?”

  “Something like that,” the guard said, shrugging his shoulder.

  Curling his hand around my forearm, he led me towards the main lobby.

  I was being held without bail, awaiting a court date that hadn't been set yet. No one wanted to hear a fucking word I had to say. And believe me I tried. I tried until I was blue in the face. It did nothing. No one wanted to listen, they just glared at me like I was lying through my teeth.

  My lawyer advised me to shut up, he told me not to say another word until he had gathered enough information that worked in my favor.

  As far as the police were concerned; I was a flight risk, I was an arsonist, I was a vandal and violent. And I had nothing to prove otherwise.

  My brother had royally fucked me.

  The fight we got into only gave way to him being able to press charges against me for assault. Next thing I knew I was being tossed behind bars, facing an up hill battle I wasn't sure I'd win.
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  He had planned it all, every last detail. Somehow, someway, he was able to link me to every little thing he did, either with a story or some form of proof that the detective saw as viable.

  “How come I'm not cuffed? Aren't you suppose to cuff me before letting me out of my cell?”

  “I don't cuff innocent men.” His voice was soft as the corner of his lip twitched into a slight grin.

  “What did you just say?”

  Stopping at a small window, he grabbed a clear bag from the ledge and slapped it against my chest. “You can go change.”

  “I'm confused, I don't understand what's going on here. What is happening right now?”

  “Mr. Barnes,” Detective Glenn said, coming up behind me and resting a hand on my shoulder. “I owe you an apology. We know the truth, we know everything about what happened, and I'm so sorry for not listening to you in the first place.”

  I didn't know what to say.

  At first I was angry, enraged by the fact that they just took what Jacob had hand delivered without giving me a platform to speak for myself.

  But I didn't feel that right then. I was still confused, taken by the drastic shift in events.

  Gripping the tops of my shoulders, the detective shook me lightly. “Relax, this isn't a trick. You can go get changed and walk right out those doors.”

  “You're serious?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “What happened? How did this happen?”

  Smirking, Detective Glenn rocked back and forth on his heels. “Well, we found the real bad guy. Jacob might have been able to pull the wool over our eyes for a short time, but he couldn't do it forever.”

  “Is he. . .” Pausing, my eyes darted between his.

  “He is, we grabbed him earlier this afternoon.”

  “So what happens now?” I asked, clutching the bag firmly against my stomach.

  “Well, your brother goes away and you get to go live your life.”

  “Just like that? I get to walk out those doors and this is all over?” Angling my head, my lids dropped, studying his expression.